I know many rumors have gone around that Delta was going to phase out the 732's from the Express routes and send them to mainline, as the 757's are taken from the mainline and put on Express routes, but i never really read anything that someone was 100% sure. Well on Justplanes.com it says Delta is officially going to start this process. It should be interesting to see how they utilize these 757's now. Whether new routes will be added/dropped and if frequencies will drop since larger planes will be flying the routes.

First, DL has to replace some of the capacity lost by shifting the 757's out of mainline and DL can't really afford to buy a bunch of new planes right now. Second, there are some RJ markets that are busting at the seems and need more capacity. The 732 fits into that niche as the MD88's are too much of a capacity increase. Granted the 732's aren't perfect, but for now they will work.

The extra capacity of the 752's is justified in markets like JFK-FLL where DL is going head to head with JBLU. One of the goals is to steal traffic back from JBLU....you won't do this with little 732's or 73G's. The 752's will also have a lower CASM and be more competitive on that front too.

Also, you have to factor in that the 732's of DL Express are all in single class configuration so they need to convert them back to 2 class...I think putting 732's back into mainline makes little sense IMO...

I don't think I understand this. Is DL Express like AA Eagle or NW Airlink, a separate carrier set up to serve less-populous markets and thereby save money by using smaller more efficient aircraft piloted by crews who don't make quite as much money as mainline pilots? If so, and DL sends mainline 757's to the Express routes, will we have mainline aircraft serving Express cities with the only difference being pilots who aren't paid as much as pilots on the mainlines? If these Express cities are doing so well why aren't they made into mainline cities?

An explanation would be appreciated. If I am just dense please accept my apologies in advance. I don't follow DL developments very much since keeping up with AA and US, my primary carriers, is just about a full-time job in itself.

Delta Express is more like Continental Lite and Shuttle by United than American Eagle. Single class, low service planes on low yield routes. Currently they're just used for bypassing the hubs between the northeast and Florida.

Delta Connection is the division of Delta that is comprable to AA Eagle or NW airlink; DL Connection uses the regional jets and turboprops to smaller communities from the hubs.

Let me get this straight.... you guys are now saying that this is "official" because, of all things, justplanes.com says so. Oh, I can't help but laugh hysterically. Only an airliners.net user would consider that to be a valid source of information.

As for 757s, I suppose it's probable, and some people seem to have convinced themselves that it is a viable idea, but as I've said before, nobody seems to have stopped to think about the fact that whatever savings Delta is able to obtain thanks to the 757's efficiency could very well be absolutely obliterated by the amount of money that Delta pilots are contractually entitled to for the 757. Am I saying it won't happen? No. I suppose it will, but Delta's LCC strategy faces much bigger challenges than anybody around here seems to be aware of. It's not simply a matter of taking 22 First Class seats out of a 757 and suddenly you're going head to head with jetBlue.

Only time will tell, but you guys are jumping to conclusions. And I don't care what you heard, from whom, I won't believe anything until somebody within Delta *who is actually working on the project* tells me something, or until John Selvaggio makes his announcement.

It is happening. It is not a rumor. DAL pilots have been told. ALPA has been advised. The aircraft are being modified. The position bids have been started. Training is being done. DAL may not be flooding the world with press releases, but I can think of a bunch of reasons why. Competitive reasons. DAL is holding those cards close to the vest. But 757's on Express is an open secret.

Yet another major US airline decides to start a low cost subsidiary........what are they nuts? Paging Continental Lite, US Airways Metrojet, Shuttle by United? Sure, the 757's are cheaper to operate than the 732's but honestly, would it not make sense to strip the fleet of the 732's, 727's, for the sake of fuel efficiency over the idea of creating a low cost airline?

It won't work. The majors have tried and failed to mimick Southwest. They can't do it.

no offense, but Delta is and has operated a low-cost subsidiary, Delta Express. They are simply changing the aircraft on the routes to allow them to compete with the low-fare carriers of the Northeast better. Now personally i dont think its too smart to phase in the 732's into mainline service. But like stated earlier, the 732 is a nice fit for cities that are too busy for RJ's but not busy enough to denote MD-88's and 738's.

25 MD88Captain
: DeltaSFO. I just looked up the pay numbers on a 757 Express crew compared to a 737-200 Express crew. The difference is $117.00 per hour. A 12 year 757

26 MD88Captain
: Let me add this to the mix. I think that DAL is considering constructing this LCC in such a way that DAL pilots will be the only mainline DAL pilots f

27 Lowfareair
: >>I think DAL may hire customer service, FA's and new mechs for work on this airline in an airline. There is no contractual or legal reason that DAL h

28 MD88Captain
: It may present challenges, but look at it this way. DAL has fought off the union threat forever. And lately they have had to really fight hard. This h

29 ChautauquaFA
: MD88Captain..... Are you sure they would hire new Flight Attendants. If they are I would apply in a heartbeat. Is the service going to be like JetBlue

30 MD88Captain
: ATL based to begin with and I am not sure they will hire anyone at lower wages. I hear that it is being considered and I believe it is a viable option

31 ChautauquaFA
: Thanks for the response.....It would be nice to be able to be based in ATL and not have to keep commuting. The reason I was asking if it was going to